My thoughts on turning 31

Let’s just start of by getting this out of the way. Officially I am 29+2.

So I’m not in my 20’s, that statement may be horrifying to say (or type) but I think I’m ok with the fact I’m turning 31, or that I have in fact, turned 31.

Even if I never get to tick that 24-30 box on a form again, or get wasted and wake up hangover free. Turning 31 isn’t that terrifying, even if 15 year old me thought she’d be Married and living on an island with all of her friends. I guess I can tick one thing off my teenage fantasy list?

No matter how much I love that people still think I’m in my 20’s I’m glad those years are behind me. I learned a lot during my 20’s, sure turning 31 was terrifying, honestly not as terrifying as actually turning 30. That was a whole other ball game.

But we aren’t here to talk about the terrifying aspect of leaving your 20’s, we are here to talk about lessons learned, things I would do differently, and try to sum up a decades worth of experience into a few short tips.

Here are the five life lessons I learned in my 20’s.

Love freely.

This is ultimately the most important, cherish the ones you love. Unfortunately the older we get the more people we lose. But nothing will prepare you for an unexpected loss. When I was 20 my Dad died of a heart attack. Honestly I can still barely speak about it without breaking down. I don’t remember the last time I said I loved him before it happened and I’ll never forget that regret. So tell the people that you care about, tell them you love them. Because life is just too fucking short.

Experience as much as you can.

This might be obvious, but say yes! Go on that impromptu holiday, go to that random gig, go swim in the ocean. Do all the weird and wonderful things you want to do, as those memories will last forever! After a particularly bad breakup I went to Australia for 6 weeks with my oldest friend, we booked and left two weeks later on a total whim. I quit my job, and honestly it was the best idea I’ve ever had, I will never forget the trip, I made new friends, visited the most beautiful places and cemented a relationship.

Create your inner circle.

Cultivate your family. My friends mean the world to me, as an only child I had to make my friends into my family. In your 20’s your friend group will be ever changing, and as one of my closest friends says;

Some friends will be with you for a season, some for a year and some for a lifetime.

Make sure you can tell who will be with you through the lows as well as the highs. Make time for them. And make sure they know how much they mean to you.

Keep an open mind.

Don’t judge people. Everyone is on their own journey and judging someone at face value is the same as judging book by its cover. You never know what they are going though so keep your opinions to yourself until you are sure. Remember if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Figure out what YOU want.

Focus on yourself! I’m not going to tout out the whole self love chathere, but learning what you need and what you want from life is possibly the most importantly part of your 20’s. Even if you don’t come up with the ultimate life plan, honestly who does?, you’ll understand what you really want from life and don’t forget the most important part…

Honestly thought you were mid to late twenties! I have 2 and a half years left of my 20s and plan to live them to the fullest. Thank you for sharing the lessons you’ve learnt.
-Kathryn xxhttp://hellokathryn.com/